New speed camera activated on the A-7 motorway in Marbella: this is its exact location

Spain's Directorate-General of Traffic (DGT) has embarked on a crusade against speeding motorists. Not only with specific campaigns this summer, but also with the installation of new radars, both average speed and fixed. The latest to be activated is on the A-7, in the municipality of Marbella, as SUR has been able to verify.

The speed camera is located at kilometre 1,050 in the direction of Cadiz, just before the entrance to the San Pedro tunnel and after the Puerto Banús exit. The device is not yet active and will be activated when the speed exceeds 80 kilometres per hour. This will be difficult at rush hour because it is an area with regular traffic jams. What is certain is that this is one of the busiest and most sensitive stretches of the Costa del Sol.

Speed is a factor in 1 in 4 fatal road accidents and 1 in 3 of those resulting in death. These are national figures from the general directorate of traffic for 2024. If we look at Malaga in particular, last year 37 people lost their lives on the road in 32 accidents. In this case, inappropriate speed was present in 12.5 per cent of the accidents. Be that as it may, the DGT is launching a special campaign this summer to try to combat such reckless behaviour. And it is deploying an arsenal of fixed radars throughout the country. Two of them are on Malaga's roads.

The two most recently installed speed cameras are of different types. One is a section control camera on the A-377, the road between Ronda and Gaucín. Specifically, it is located between kilometre points 8.9 and 5.6 on this road in the mountain region. The other is a fixed camera, placed on the A-7052 at kilometre point 4.5, on the descending carriageway. This is the road that connects Cártama with Churriana and runs through the municipality of Alhaurín de la Torre.

The DGT's intention is not to issue fines during the first month. Instead, it will send warning letters to drivers who have over-stepped the accelerator.

Inappropriate speed is the third most common contributory factor in road accidents, especially those involving fatalities. It is estimated that 10-15 per cent of all accidents and 30 per cent of fatal accidents are the direct result of speeding or inappropriate speed according to the road safety thematic report on speed published by the European Road Safety Observatory in 2021.

From 6 July 2024, all newly registered vehicles must be equipped with a number of advanced safety features, the so-called ADAS, including intelligent speed assist (ISA).

This system, consisting of the in-vehicle navigator, which displays the speed limit on the road, and a sign recognition system that complements the digital mapping and detects temporary speed limits, helps the driver to know and respect speed limits, thus contributing to improved road safety.

Four of the ten speed cameras that issue the most fines in Spain are located in Malaga. The camera that recorded the highest number of offences last year was situated at kilometre point 968 of the A-7 motorway as it passes through the municipality of Rincón de la Victoria, near Benagalbón. In 2024, it triggered a total of 67,502 penalties, representing an increase of almost one per cent compared to the previous year.

In fifth position is another Malaga-based speed camera, the one located at kilometre point 128 of the A-45. This is one of the control devices located in Las Pedrizas, in the vicinity of the Casabermeja tunnel, which last year triggered 49,378 penalties, compared to 33,310 in 2023. It so happens that another speed camera on the same road in the province of Malaga, but at kilometre point 118, in the vicinity of Villanueva de Cauche, is among the 50 with the highest number of fines in Spain, although it is lower in the national ranking - in 36th place - with 14,360 penalties in 2024 (down from 20,100 a year earlier).

The eighth and ninth places in the ranking of traffic cameras that detect the most driving offences are again for the province of Malaga. Specifically, we find the one located at kilometre 978 of the A-7, which is situated near the exit towards Rincón de la Victoria, in the eastern part of Malaga, between the Cerrado de Calderón and El Palo exits, with a total of 33,358 sanctions, a figure which is in any case lower than that of a year earlier, when it exceeded 45,500 sanctions.

Next is the device located at kilometre 10 of the MA-20, a road that functions as a ring road around the city of Malaga. The point where the speed camera, which last year triggered more than 33,000 complaints, is located in the area around Granja Suárez.